


almost there

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Age Difference, Community: 1-million-words, F/M, Het, Rare Pair, Romance, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-09-27 03:26:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9950243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: When picking up Caitlin for a movie night, Cisco makes a surprising discovery.





	

**Author's Note:**

> For one million words February Bingo , prompt "secret admirer"

Cisco knocked on the door of Caitlin's apartment and, when there was no answer after thirty seconds, he frowned and knocked again, harder this time. Thirty seconds later when there was still no answer, his frown had increased exponentially and he was wondering whether his sonic boom powers could be used gently to force the lock. He gave it twenty seconds of serious consideration before deciding that it would be over-reaction at that point; however, if she didn't answer his third knock, all bets were off. 

Knocking again, this time he used his voice as well. "Yo, Caitlin, you in there?" A pause as he glanced at his watch. "We're gonna be late for the movie if we don't get a move on..." 

From the other side of the door, he heard footsteps and he stepped back as he heard the deadbolt turning. He blinked when the door opened and Caitlin stood in front of him, wearing the same dress she'd been wearing earlier on, but more rumpled now, looking almost like she'd picked it up off the floor and put it on, rather than the immaculately turned out, wrinkle free Caitlin he was used to seeing. Her hair was likewise mussed and she was several inches shorter than usual, the result of her being barefoot rather than wearing her usual vertiginous heels. 

All in all, this was a Caitlin he was not used to seeing. 

"You're not ready?" The words were out before he had time to think about them, pure surprise the culprit. Caitlin was always ready, always on time. She was the one who usually complained about waiting for him. 

"I lay down when I got home." Caitlin pushed a lock of hair behind one ear. "I guess I fell asleep." 

Cisco frowned. "You want to bail? I can tell the others you're tired-"

"No." Caitlin shook her head, eyes wide. "Just give me a minute to freshen up, I'll be right out." She made as if she was going to close the door, then stopped herself. "You'd better come in." 

The obvious afterthought made him narrow his eyes but he told himself that if he'd just woken Caitlin up, it explained why she was so punchy. He followed her in, looking around the living room as she headed for her bedroom, trying to remember the last time he'd been here. A bouquet of flowers in a vase on the sideboard caught his eye and he grinned. "You got a secret admirer you're not telling us about?"

Anyone who didn't know Caitlin Snow might have missed how she froze completely for just a second at his words. Slowly, she turned around, her voice and face completely neutral when she said, "Excuse me?"

Cisco pointed at the vase. "The flowers... You know, flowers, romance, secret admirer?" 

Her face cleared and she laughed. "What, a girl can't buy herself flowers?" she asked. "I saw them on my way home last night, thought they looked pretty. No big deal."

He didn't say anything, just nodded and seemingly satisfied, she turned back around and continued on her way. When she couldn't see him, Cisco narrowed his eyes again, tilted his head. Someone else might have bought that explanation, but Caitlin happened to be the worst liar in the history of liars and Cisco didn't buy her explanation for a second. 

Especially when, from behind her closed bedroom door, he was sure he could hear her voice, deliberately low, as well as another, deeper one. 

"You sure you're up for this?" He walked around the couch, closer to the hallway. "We can order pizza and do Netflix if you'd rather..."

"Don't be silly." Even through walls and wooden doors he could hear her voice high and shrill, the way it got when she was trying not to panic. "I told you, I'll just be a minute..." 

Biting back a grin, sure his hunch was right, Cisco dropped down onto the couch, shaking his head and wondering how he could possibly get her to admit the truth. Then, out of the corner of his eye, pushed down between the cushions, he saw a hint of material, familiar looking somehow. He reached out, pulled it up and his eyebrows shot up as he saw that it was a man's tie. He'd seen it before but his brain couldn't remember where and he stared hard at it as he tried to figure it out. 

And he didn't mean to do it, he really didn't, but the world shimmered hazily around him, flashes of lightning danced in his eyes and it was like he was standing in the corner of the same living room, looking at the couch instead of sitting on it. From his vantage point, the two people sitting on the couch were both visible and identifiable, Caitlin's fingers pulling at Joe's tie - the tie Cisco held in his hands and no wonder he'd recognised it - as she straddled him, her eyes fluttering shut as Joe's hands slowly slid up her thighs, under the hem of the dress she'd been wearing all day, the one that, in Cisco's vibe, didn't look at all as if had been picked up off the floor. He saw Joe grin as Caitlin gasped, threw her head back with a throaty moan-

"Almost there!" 

Caitlin's voice drifted down the hall and Cisco dropped the tie as if it had burned him and he clamped his jaw shut, hoping he hadn't made any noise. Quickly, before she came back, he pushed the tie deep in between the cushions, took a deep breath and began reciting the periodic table to calm his racing heart. 

When Caitlin emerged a minute later, her hair was perfectly in place, her make-up touched up, dress a tad straighter than it had been. "Sorry," she said with a smile that looked more than a little forced. 

"No problem." Cisco hoped he didn't sound odd but if he did, Caitlin didn't appear to notice. "You ready?"

Caitlin nodded as she grabbed her purse. "Let's go." She stopped suddenly, glanced over her shoulder. "Damn, I left my cell phone on my night stand, hang on..."

Cisco just about managed not to roll his eyes and it got a lot more difficult when she came back, cell phone in one hand, purse in the other, lipstick a smidge more smudged than it had previously been. 

"Ok, now let's go," she said and he just smiled as he followed her out, having worked out for sure that Caitlin's admirer was not as secret as he seemed.


End file.
